OUR FOOTSTEPS

In September 1999, a group of four young Social Workers from Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (RCSS), Cochin headed to Odisha (then Orissa) for undertaking a month-long field work at Gram Vikas, Berhampur Odisha. Towards the fag end of their engagement there, a Super Cyclone struck the coastal districts of Odisha making it the worst ever cyclone in the Indian coast.

The social workers immediately swung into action to provide immediate assistance to those who were affected. It was during this period, Mr Ramesh Krishnan closely observed the miseries, poverty and suffering of cyclone affected people from a very close quarter which ignited his mind to work for the disadvantaged section of the society, which ended in forming a non-profit organization in Kerala in the year 2008, christened Foundation for development Action (FDA). The organization envisions safer societies, empowered communities and resilient nation through active engagement of children, youth and communities at large through taking up Disaster Risk Reduction, Child Development, Livelihoods and Capacity Building Programmes.

To being, the organization started with institution-based capacity building training programmes for social work students and awareness generation events for youth. Partnership with other organizations started in 2014-15, wherein FDA joined hands with Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) an Ahmedabad based development organization for conducting Entrepreneurial Development Programmes (EDP) for unemployed youths of Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram districts.

Association with Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) started in 2015-16 for implementing United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded Community Based Disaster Risk Management Programme (CBDRM) at Munroethuruthu and Peringara revenue villages. It was in the same year, Campus Disaster Management Programme was implemented at SOS Children’s Village Thrissur, Kerala.

The organization in 2016-17 started associating with District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) Thiruvananthapuram and The Department of Women & Child Development (then Social Justice Department) for implementing “Psychosocial Care for Children in Conflict with Law” (commonly known as KAVAL Project). By this time the organization built strong professional relationship with DCPU and DWCD and launched a project titled “Recovery and Mainstreaming of Children with substance abuse” in 20 schools of Thiruvananthapuram district on a pilot basis.

School Safety Programme was yet another milestone in the progressive development of the organization. In April 2018, FDA provided technical support to Saraswathi Vidyalaya a CBSE school at Vattiyoorkavu Thiruvananthapuram for implementing a comprehensive School Safety Programme. This was followed by implementation of UNDP supported School Safety Programme in 28 high schools pan Kerala in 2019. FDA believes in Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Sir’s inspiring words- “Dream is not that which you see while sleeping, it is something that does not let you sleep”.